Suy Niệm Thứ Ba Tuần 8 TN

 Suy Niệm Thứ Ba Tuần 8 TN -Mark 10:28-31

 Bài Tin Mừng hôm nay tiếp theo bài đọc hôm qua. Sau khi Chúa bảo người thanh niên giàu có về bán tài sản của mình đem bố thí và theo ngài.... nhưng người thanh niên này đã buồn bã ra đi... Chính vì thế mà Phêrô đã hỏi Chúa Giêsu "Tôi bỏ tất cả theo thầy, Phần tôi, tôi sẽ được gì đây?" với bản tính con người, Các môn đệ đã cũng mong đợi một vài lợi ích tài chính hoặc vật chất cho lòng trung thành của họ?  Vì vậy, Chúa Giêsu đã bảo đảm với họ rằng họ sẽ được hoàn trả hơn một trăm lần, nhưng không phải bây giờ.
            Từ khi nghe tiếng mời gọi theo Chúa, các môn đệ đã để lại sau lưng tất cả mọi thứ vì lợi ích của Ngài và vì công việc của Ngài và điều này bao gồm những sự bách hại; đây là mối đầu tư của họ. Nhưng phần thưởng là rất lớn, đó là sự  sống đời đời. Nhưng không phải trong cuộc sống này vì rất khó có thể sống theo như ý Thiên Chúa muốn mà không vác lấy thánh giá Chúa trao ban.
            Đấy chính là thực tại trong cuộc sống tình yêu hy sinh của một người theo ý Chúa. Như khi người đời thường nói, "Không đau khổ, thi không đạt được kết quả tốt. Không chéo, không vương miện". Tất cả Mười hai môn đệ đầu tiên của Chúa Giêsu đã chịu tử đạo, ngoại trừ Gioan. Không biết bao nhiêu người trong số các tiền nhân Việt Nam của chúng ta cũng bị đàn áp và tử đạo vì Chúa và vì lợi ích của Tin Mừng phúc âm.
            Tuy nhiên, có hai loại tử đạo:- những người chết vì đức tin trong tay của kẻ thù, và những người cống hiến cuộc đời của mình để phục vụ Giáo Hội trong sự cứu rỗi các linh hồn mà đã chết đi một cách lặng lẽ, không được chú ý, không ai biết đến.
            "Lạy Chúa Giêsu, chúng con muốn đi theo Chúa để được làm môn đệ của Chúa và yêu thương Chúa hết lòng với tất cả những gì chúng con có. Xin Chúa hãy điền vào tâm hồn chúng con với đức tin mạnh mẽ, với hy vọng, và tình yêu vô vị lợi, để chúng con luôn luôn có thể tìm thấy được sự bình an và niềm vui trong sự hiện diện của Chúa."
 
REFLECTION
Today we continue Gospel from yesterday.When Jesus tell the young man whatv to do to have enternal life, But because he was so rick, and he did not want to give up his well to follow Jesus. For that reason Peter actually asking Jesus "What's in it for me?"  When Jesus called his first disciples to follow him, they laid down their boats, their fishnets, left their families, and immdiately went with him and today in the Gospel:
            - Did the disciples expect some sort of financial or material gain for their service and follow Jesus?
            So Jesus reassures them that they would be repaid a hundred times over; but not now, not just yet. At the present time, they leave behind everything for his sake and the sake of his work and this includes persecutions; this was their investment. But the rewards are great, very great, in the eternal life. It is not possible to live as God wills us to do without a cross. This is the reality of sacrificial love in the life of a person following God's will.
            As the saying goes, "No pain, no gain. No cross, no crown." All of Jesus' first Twelve suffered martyrdom except John. Many of our saints also suffered persecution and martyrdom for Christ's sake and for the sake of the gospel.
            However, there are two kinds of martyrdom; those who die for the faith in the hands of the enemy, and those who dedicate their lives to serving the Church for the salvation of souls and who die quietly, unnoticed. "Lord Jesus, we want to follow you as your disciple and to love you wholeheartedly with all that we have. Fill our heart with faith, hope, and love that we may always find peace and joy in your presence."
 
Tuesday week 8^th in Ordinary Time 2023
 
Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more…” Mark 10:29–30
Jesus’ statement above is in response to Peter who said to Him, “We have given up everything and followed you.” It was as if Peter were patting himself on the back, attempting to highlight just how much he and the other disciples had sacrificed to follow Jesus. And it was true, they did give up everything of their former life. They left home, their occupation, their relationships and everything that had been part of their daily established life in response to the call of Jesus. They were truly all in.
In hearing this statement from Peter, Jesus does not give the expected response. He doesn’t say to Peter, “Yes, you have, that’s very impressive Peter. Good job and thank you!” Instead, Jesus immediately explains to Peter that the sacrifice he and the others have made is worth it. Their unwavering commitment to follow Jesus would be repaid with gifts beyond their imagination. Thus, Jesus was saying that the gifts that He would bestow upon them would be exponentially greater than every sacrifice they made.
This was not a belittling of Peter’s self-sacrifice; rather, it was a form of encouragement by Jesus. He was encouraging Peter, and the other disciples, to have full confidence in their decision to follow Him. Their sacrifice would yield a hundredfold return. That is truly a good investment.
It can be tempting for us all, at times, to feel as though God asks too much of us. It’s true that God asks much of us. He asks everything from us. He asks for the complete and total gift of our lives to Him. He calls us to abandon all selfishness and to dedicate ourselves to His holy will without exception. But if we understand the reward of our self-giving, then the sacrifices we make will pale in comparison to the reward.
Reflect, today, upon whether or not you can say those words with the Apostle, Saint Peter: “Lord, I have given up everything to follow You.” Have you truly given your life completely to Christ Jesus? Are there things that you still hold back, not wanting to “sacrifice” for our Lord? Ponder those words of Peter and allow yourself to see the areas of your life you still need to surrender over to Jesus. And as you do so, allow the reward promised by our Lord to motivate you to the point that you truly hold nothing back and truly have given up everything to follow His holy will.
My generous Lord, You ask everything of me. You ask me to abandon everything in my pursuit of Your perfect will. Give me the grace I need to answer Your call and to live sacrificially for You without counting the cost. You are generous beyond description, dear Lord, and I trust that following You will produce an abundance of good fruit. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Tuesday on 8^th week of Ordinary Time 2024
 Opening Prayer: Lord God, I seek each day to follow your Son. I am willing to give up any attachments to this passing life and present age and enjoy divine life. Help me to see myself as a new creation in Christ who is called to bring others to live in the age to come.
Encountering the Word of God.
1. Peter’s Observation: Peter makes a legitimate observation in today’s Gospel and asks a legitimate question in its parallel in Matthew’s Gospel: “We have given up everything and followed you” (Mark 10:28), “What will there be for us?” (Matthew 19:27). In Mark, Peter’s observation follows the experience of the Transfiguration and Jesus speaking openly of his coming passion, death, and resurrection. Jesus also speaks about the conditions for following him: praying and fasting to combat evil (Mark 9:29), being the last and servant of all as a condition for true greatness (9:35), serving others in his name (9:41), not causing others to sin (9:42), separating ourselves from what leads to sin (9:43-47), fidelity and perseverance in marriage (10:11-12), welcoming his lordship (the kingdom of God) with simplicity and humility (10:15), keeping the commandments (10:19), detaching ourselves from material things, and giving to the poor (10:21). And so, Peter asks, “Lord, if we do all this ‘giving up’ in the present age what will we receive in the age to come?
2. Jesus’ Response: Jesus’ response to Peter is threefold. First, Jesus’ followers will become brothers and sisters in the Church. The Baptized are incorporated into the Church, the mystical body of Christ, and this is part of the hundredfold we now receive. Humanity is united in the Church, the family of God. Second, following Christ more perfectly means sharing more deeply in his passion. This is why we can expect an increase in persecution. Third, the greatest gift we receive is eternal life. Through the Sacraments, grace, and the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity, we share already in eternal life. But the day will come, after this life, when we will share fully in eternal life, contemplating and loving God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The contrast in the Gospel passage between the two worlds – the present age and the age to come – is often found in Paul’s writings. Paul teaches that through the passion, crucifixion, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus, the present world (age) has passed away and was put to death and the new world began. Because of this, anyone in the present age who belongs to Jesus already belongs to the world and the age to come. The present world is fallen but has been transformed into a new creation through Christ. The old and new creations overlap in Christ. Believers who are in Christ live in a kind of in-between realm where the old and new creations intermingle. Believers continue to live and suffer in this world of sin and death; yet they already share in the glory of the light of the new creation (see Pitre, Barber, Kincaid, Paul: A New Covenant Jew, 72-73).
3. Be Holy: The First Letter of Peter continues in this line of thought and raises our eyes from suffering in this life to the glory of heaven. The prophets, Peter writes, spoke about the coming grace of the Messiah. Jesus Christ suffered and died, and, through these, merited for us heavenly gifts. What the prophets announced is fully realized in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This Good News is that we have become children of God through grace and that we are called to act according to the New Covenant established by Jesus Christ. This covenant was made so that we could share in God’s holiness: “Be holy because I am holy.” The New Covenant introduces us into God’s family and, in our actions, the model we are to imitate and follow and identify ourselves with is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I want to follow you and share in your life more fully. You knew how to live in this world and use everything to glorify your Father. I desire that same wisdom. I am surrounded by many temptations and many good things. Help me discern between them and pursue the good in all that I do.
Living the Word of God: Do I see myself as a sojourner living in the present world but already enjoying life in the new world inaugurated by Christ? How can I better live this truth? What sinful actions of mine are part of the old world and what grace-filled actions are part of the new world?